VIO Ch 59.1 – The Unbeknownst Creeping Shadow (II)

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Editor: junirenn

It was the day after Vio rebelled against Rupheus. Following Doctor Méliez’s instructions, he was lying on his bed, resting.

The summer sun shone through the half-drawn blue curtains, causing a shadow of the window frame to appear on the floor. Occasionally, a tepid breeze would flow into the room, making the curtains flutter. 

Vio tried to be obedient and sleep, but his thoughts kept distracting him. He was thinking about whether or not the messengers he had sent in the morning had returned. Unable to stop worrying about it, he let out a small sigh and shifted his gaze to the window.

Soft knocking sounded throughout the room before Jill entered. “I’ve returned from relaying your message, Young Master. Have I bothered you?”

“Welcome back, Jill. No, it’s okay. I was too caught up in my thoughts that I couldn’t sleep,” said Vio. “So what did mother say?”

When Vio woke up that morning, the first thing he did was inform Viola about his confrontation with his brother. Vio couldn’t go to Nada. If he couldn’t protect Flora by being by her, then he had to ask for another person’s help. He figured that Viola would lend him a hand.

“She said, ‘I won’t interfere with your and your brother’s quarrel. Just do as you please.’ Also, she said she would take care of the matter regarding Lady Flora,” replied Jill.

“That’s good to hear. But that reply is definitely something Mother would say.” Vio smiled slightly, some of his tension leaving him.

In the past, Viola had told him to fight back against Rupheus, but Vio was a bit worried that she might prioritize her eldest son once their quarrels escalated into a serious fight. Yet far from admonishing him for quarrelling, her reply exceeded his expectations.

There were times when Vio thought that Viola was actually a daring lady, contrary to her delicate appearance. This was one of those times.

“Her Grace also mentioned that Young Master could rely on her if necessary, but that Lord Rupheus would most probably focus on Young Master and avert his eyes from Flora,” Jill said.

“Yeah, that’s possible. But Brother is good at striking other people’s weaknesses, so we have to be alert. What about Dame Calia?” 

“Of course she accepts it. She was originally one of Lord Rupheus’ knights, but he discharged her. The reason for it is because she refused him when he tried to take Dame Calia into his bedroom. I believe that Lady Flora is important to her, but she has a grudge against Lord Rupheus. Other than harassing her, he has also bothered her”

“Brother… He’s really…” Vio felt a headache coming again. 

He reflexively placed a hand on his forehead, earnestly apologizing to Calia in his mind. He didn’t know that something like that had happened. But thanks to that, Calia would be a strong ally. 

He couldn’t stop a groan from escaping his mouth. “Of course it’s bad for his reputation to do such a thing to girls,, but to try and subject the daughter of the Viscount to it is definitely worse. He won’t be in that much trouble if he’s planning to marry her, but…”

“Since we’re talking about Lord Rupheus, I believe he would only make Dame Calia his mistress.”

Vio let out a heavy sigh of relief. “It’s a relief that Dame Calia escaped…”

It would still be alright for Calia if Rupheus made her his legal wife . But if she became his mistress, she would only have a pitiful future. 

“There is one last thing Her Grace said to me. She’s going to tell you about her contact once she gets back to Nada.”

“Got it. Thank you, Jill.”

Jill’s eyes gleamed. “I am not worthy of those words,” he said, before he continued with a gentle expression, “Please feel free to tell me anything.” 

Vio smiled wryly. “Yeah.”

Jill probably wanted to suggest he take the last resort, but even if Vio hated Rupheus, he didn’t want to assassinate his family. 

“All of you might tell me that I’m being too soft, but… I don’t want to resort to violence for as long as I can help it. I don’t want to live with the burden of knowing I harmed Brother… And I don’t want to stoop to his level. But…” Vio’s purple eyes gleamed strongly. “To protect Flora, I won’t hesitate to do that when I have no other option. Keep that in mind.”

“Yes, I understand.” Jill bowed deeply.

Vio took out his hand from the quilt and beckoned for Jill. Once Jill neared him, he lightly patted his left arm and said, “Thank you, Jill. I mean it.”

“You’re speaking nonsense, Young Master. I’m a butler who relies on you. I have to thank you since I’m satisfied with my job,” Jill replied with a playful smile, making Vio laugh in response. Jill then took Vio’s hand and placed it back under his quilt. “Is there anything else you want me to do?”

“What is Legi doing, by the way?” Vio asked.

Soon after, Legion came into the room. “Lord Violant, I have delivered the letters safely. I’m very sorry for being late. I was held up preparing them…” he said.

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“I thought so. Anyways, I can finally breathe in relief.”

Vio had instructed Legion to write a letter informing his family, who were still living in Nada, about the danger. He wouldn’t allow his brother to repeat what he did to Erik with Legion.

Vio told him to send out five falcons to deliver the letters, so Legion had to write five copies of the letter, which would obviously take some time.

Sometimes, a carrier pigeon would get attacked by one of its natural predators. Other times, they would get lost when delivering the letters. Therefore, it was normal to send dozens at a time. While falcons didn’t have that many natural predators, they couldn’t ignore the possibility that other falcons or wild dragons would attack it on their journey. Therefore, they prepared a reasonable number of falcons to deliver their letters. 

As Legion was moving towards Vio’s bedside, he made a face, as if he remembered something. He then said, “I understand why you instructed me to inform my family to only accept Lord Rupheus’ gift if there is an audience to witness it. But I’m impressed with your instructions for them to praise and compliment Lord Rupheus so that his reputation improves.”

“My brother is a proud man. He’s going to prioritize his reputation over anything else. So it’ll be safer for your family to brag to their fellow merchants about having his favor in public when they receive it. I’m glad your family are merchants.”

“Yes. Merchants are tenacious, so I think things will be alright with this plan,” Legion said awkwardly as he looked into the distance. He probably remembered some memories of his family. 

“After this, I’ll ask Rille about the temple… I’m also going to prepare a letter to meet my grandfather.”

Vio was thinking of two places where Flora could escape to: the temple and their grandfather’s house.

It’s common for nobles to place their children at the temple. Sometimes they did it to make their children learn about manners. But most of the time, it was to place problematic children out of the way, to ensure that they wouldn’t be able to play an active role in politics.

Moving Flora to the temple was Vio’s last resort. Even so, not even the royal family could interfere with the temple’s matters with ease. It was a convenient sanctuary for his sister.

However, the temples in Nada were notoriously bad. If Vio evacuated Flora there in the current situation, he could easily imagine the temple willingly selling her back to their brother.

For now, he had to investigate their internal workings and the details of their transaction history to make sure they would keep their end of a deal.

Rille volunteered to handle this, so I’ll leave it to her.

Rille had a grudge against Rupheus, so she would definitely do a good job.

“Young Master. Do you want to meet His Emeritus Majesty Wingard?”

Vio nodded at Jill’s question. “Yeah. Grandfather can easily protect Mother and Flora when something happens. I have to meet with him in person and ask him about it.”

Since his grandfather retired from the throne because of his illness, he lived in seclusion at a separate palace outside the royal capital. Vio heard that he rarely made an appearance in social gatherings and rarely went  outside of his residence for any reason other than travelling to somewhere nearby.

Vio had only met both of his grandparents once, at his social debut. They seemed to be a kind couple. Besides, they were famous for their fondness of their daughter, Viola. Vio was sure that they would agree.

“Regardless, His Majesty Wingard and Her Majesty Elise will be happy if you tell them that you want to see him, Young Master,” said Jill.

“I wonder if you’re right… I think they will be vigilant if their problematic grandchild suddenly visits them.”

“Well, you can’t be sure about that. Her Majesty Elise is a diligent writer. She regularly sends letters to your parents, so I’m sure she knows about the recent situation. Should I write the letter for you?”

“No need. It’s been a while, so I want to write it myself.”

“I understand. Then I will immediately retrieve the writing instruments.” Jill then left the bedroom.

Once he was gone, Legion said, “Lord Violant, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Other than this, I only have to think about how to further develop Leca. I want to hire an obscure botanist from the royal capital. I’d like to ask you to collect that information… can you do that?”

“Please leave that to me. By the way, why aren’t you hiring wizards? Lord Violant is an excellent spirit magic practitioner, but wizards are indispensable for defense.”

“Currently, having a scholar with us is more than enough, but it won’t hurt to look into it. I’ll be quite satisfied if we can hire either a botanist or a wizard,” Vio said with a bitter smile, implying that there might be no one who would want to come to Lesserhein’s territory. 

However, Legion nodded, full of motivation. “I understand. Do you mind if I go out now?”

“Hmm. I want to say I don’t mind, but I want you to refrain from going outside until the order for me to rest in bed is lifted. We don’t have to hurry, so try to listen for rumors when you have the time. Especially since we’re in the castle,” said Vio, before his expression turned sour. “Sorry for disappointing you, Legi. I’m a little worried since I can’t move around.”

“No. I’m Lord Violant’s shield. I take pride in the fact that you want me to protect you. There is nothing you need to apologize for!”

Wincing at Legion’s usual enthusiasm, Vio said, “S-sure.” 

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